Darker than Black Christmas Carol
by Sakabatou77
Summary: It's been six month since Hell's Gate, and Christmas is drawing near. Hei is far from the spirit, which causes someone to visit him on Christmas Eve, and informs him he shall be met by three spirits. Misaki/Hei
1. Chapter 1

Darker than Black Christmas Carol:

Chapter one

Christmas Eve had fallen upon the year. The city of Tokyo was doused in thick falling snowflakes, and sparkling lights decorated along the buildings of Shibuya shined brightly in the night. Pedestrians were bundled up in sweaters, thick jackets, gloves, boots and scarves, but the layers were useless against the brittle air. A few of them were trying to balance gifts stacked up over their heads, or prayed his or her stuffed bags wouldn't rip.

Most of the motorist drove slowly through the slush on the roads, but there were others that were blazing by. A red SUV had skidded through a red light and collided with a sports car. A woman and her son would have been plowed into by a vehicle that was making a sharp turn too fast if it weren't for the railings.

Hei and Yin walked amongst the many beings, Hei presented in his usual green coat, and Yin wearing a warm black coat with a purple liner over her dress. She had her arms wrapped around her to keep warm as much as possible, while Hei walked slumped over, ignoring the cold, with his hands in his jean pockets.

Hei hated this time of the year. Besides Yin, he had nobody to celebrate Christmas with. He had had his sister when they lived in China, but that had been years ago. The memory he had of their last Christmas together with their parents was a pleasant one. A few months later his parents were killed, which landed him and his sister in the custody of the Syndicate. During his time in South America, there had never been time to exchange gifts with anyone, and most of them were Contractors who could care less. One had come to Hei and had said, "Bah, humbug!" Hei felt like saying the word, but he didn't want to ruin the day for Yin.

He had bought her a lovely necklace, but it didn't do her justice since she couldn't look at it with her own eyes. She had said she loved it, and that she was pleased with the gift. She had given him a watch in return.

They descended into the subway nearby, watching their step on the slippery stairs. Hei put his day ticket in the machine slot, walked through the split gate, and took his ticket on the other end. Yin followed. They walked through the underground market, and descended another flock of stairs to catch their train. It pulled into the station, and opened its doors to allow its passengers on. Hei gestured for Yin to enter, in which she bowed her thanks, and stepped onto the somewhat empty car to sit on a vacant seat. Hei took the spot next to her. The doors closed moments later, and the train began its journey down the murky tunnel.

A clicking sound from the train's wheels on the track, and a couple of commuters coughing or sneezing from colds monopolized the car. Hei glared down at the ground while Yin stared at nothing, keeping her legs close together so no old perverts "accidentally" fell to look up her skirt.

Hei thought of what might have been a Christmas this year if the meteor hadn't struck the earth. He imagined sitting by a Christmas tree that had gifts stuffed under it near a cracking fireplace. His sister, Bai, would come barreling down the stairs after waking up to stargaze at the two-dozen presents, and then she would begin to pour through them to find hers. She would be displeased she hadn't gotten what she wanted, and believed she would get it next year. Hei could see he had gotten a few pares of socks, shirts, and pants, but no toys.

He had been pleased one year when he had gotten a telescope since he loved staring up at the stars.

A thought crossed his mind, and he realized he wouldn't be spending Christmas only with his sister and parents, but with someone else as well. He had Yin, and he did love spending time with her, but he felt like something was still missing.

Hei would have liked to celebrate the year with Mao and Huang, but Mao would have given him his bowl of cat food from Rika as a gift, and Huang would have probably handed over a pack of cigarettes. Hei frowned at the thought.

Amber would have been a blast to be with, and he knew they would have done a lot of nasty things in one night. He loved her dearly, and he could see being with her, but he felt she wasn't the one.

Another thought came to him, and he pictured himself holding Misaki in his arms on a couch in front of a fireplace to keep warm. Hei imagined giving her a gift that pleased her deeply, and she giving him something he would love as well. Her being by his side was enough, but that could never happen. Misaki and Hei lived two different lives. He was a Contractor and the Black Reaper, and she was the Section-Chief of the Foreign Affairs whose duty was to arrest him. The thought of them being together was too far fetched, and it could never happen.

The train came to a stop in their station. The doors opened in which Hei and Yin exited and headed up the stairs. It was still snowing, which irritated Hei since his feet were getting cold from trotting through slushy snow. He prayed the cold season would be short.

"Bah, humbug," muttered Hei.

-----

Misaki gazed at the falling flakes outside, wishing to feel free like that and have no worries to deal with. Unfortunately her desk was piled with files and folders of Contractors that had been arrested, or had been active in the past forty-eight hours. None of them included BK201, which she felt relieved. No matter how she looked at it as a cop, a part of her prayed that he would never be caught, but if he did Misaki hoped she wasn't the one throwing the cuffs on him. It would have killed her to do that to someone she held close to her heart, even though he was a Contractor.

There were other things that were boggling her mind. For one, Christmas had arrived, and Misaki would most likely spend the day with her father. It had only been them since her mother had died ten years ago. She didn't have anybody else to celebrate the year with besides Kanami, and she was bad enough. Misaki had gone with her to a Christmas Eve party where she had gotten plastered, started dancing foolishly on a table with dozens of guys around her, and regurgitated on them. She hadn't remembered the night, but Kanami had recorded the whole party and showed an ill and crapulent Misaki the following day. She swore to watch how much she drank.

Kanami had regretted bringing Misaki along due to the fact the police department had been stopping motorist to check and see if anybody were drinking and driving.

"I had told you to hold your breath!" Kanami had stated to Misaki. "But you were like, 'I'm a cop, we'll be fine.' Lucky for me you had passed out."

The Foreign Affairs was planning on having a Christmas party tonight, and everyone was excited except Misaki. Saitou was singing Christmas songs in English, which he was doing a poor job at. He tried to harmonize Deck the Halls, but he kept on saying, "deck my balls." Ootsuka chuckled at it, but Saitou, being thickheaded, didn't understand what was so funny. Kouno was wearing a Santa hat and continuously teased Ootsuka if he could unwrap her.

"Why, I had asked Kunio if he could do that," Ootsuka replied with.

Kunio heard her comment from his desk and coughed from the words as his cheeks blushed. Kouno frowned at her statement, which made Ootsuka smile in delight.

Saitou began singing Jingle Bells, but it was coming out as, "jingle balls." Misaki wished he would give it a rest. She didn't even feel like celebrating at all due to the events that had happened for the past six months. The human population was trying to take the law into their own hands about Contractors, causing their own deaths, and her colleagues thought it was all right to have a good time at the moment. To her there was no time for any of that, just like when spring had arrived and everyone had gathered under the Cheery trees while she was busy at work. Things needed to be done, which called for less fooling around. Misaki thought about reprimanding everybody, but she decided to let her colleagues have their fun.

Misaki stood to leave for the night. She put on a heavy red coat, threw her purse over her shoulder, and headed for the elevator.

"Chief!" called Saitou. Misaki turned on her heels to look at him sprinting over to her. He had on a party hat that was slightly tilted to his left, and some glitter on his face. "You're leaving?"

"Yes, I am. I'm supposed to meet my father early tomorrow," she lied.

"Oh." Saitou's eyes slowly looked up and then blushed. "Mi—mistletoe."

Misaki frowned as her eyes followed Saitou's to see she was standing under mistletoe that some moron had hung earlier.

"Eh, right," muttered Misaki, and then sidestepped out from under it.

Saitou stared at her flabbergasted, and then averted his eyes from hers. She looked at him baffled, as she wondered why he looked so depressed. She let the thought linger from her mind and said, "See you later, Saitou."

"Ah, right. Bye, Chief," replied Saitou while avoiding her eyes.

He walked backwards a few steps, and then turned around to head back for the party. Misaki hit the down button for the elevator, waited a few minutes for it to arrive on her floor, and stepped in it. She hit the basement button, and leaned against the back wall while riding the elevator down.

There was only one person she wanted to spend the holiday with, and he was nowhere to be found. His last words to her had haunted her every time she closed her eyes. It wasn't true, at least not all of it. His real name might not be Li, but the man she knew to be Li was indeed still alive. If that part of him weren't, then he would have ignored her plea about sparing Hourai.

Misaki wanted to see him again, but she may never get the chance in her life time because of their opposite positions.

The elevator reached the garage floor and opened its doors. She walked pass a few aisles before reaching her car, unlocked her car with her key remote, and entered it to start up the engine. Misaki hated this time of the year. It was a pain to drive a sports car in this type of weather, especially in a stick.

Misaki frowned as she placed the shifter in first, and headed out on the treacherous roads. To her surprise, there had been mostly SUVs that had plowed into rails, or were lying in ravines.

----

Hei and Yin reached their new apartment they had been staying at after disappearing after Hell's Gate. He hated the dull and unkempt place. His neighbors were rude and they were always yelling and screaming through most of the nights, and his landlord was a douche bag who refused to fix the heating. Hei had asked about it, but the zit-covered face little prick had stated, "Either get a blanket or pay me double your rent."

Hei had half a mind to make his landlord his Christmas tree this year, but the only thing that had stopped him was the lab dolls locating him.

They ascended the snow-covered stairs, and walked down the icy balcony to the far end room. Hei unlocked the door for room 201, ushered in Yin first, and stepped into a bleak room. The room itself was diminutive and rectangle in length. There was no sink or bathroom, only tatami mats and two futons lying next to each other. An enclosed window lay on the back wall, and a forty-eight centimeter television sat on the right side of the wall next to a small-rounded heater.

He turned on the heater and television, and sat down with Yin to watch the evening news. Hei regretted it since they were talking about the many decorations throughout the city. He lay down on his futon while placing his hands behind his back to grown about the continuing nonsense fluttering around the world. It was bothersome and he wanted it over with so he wouldn't have to worry about the crap for another year.

What was really annoying was that a lot of radio stations started playing Christmas music at the beginning of November, so in reality he had to deal with the Holiday for two whole months. Why was that, and who was the one who thought of it? If Hei ever found out who that person was, he was going to fry him or her. It made no sense to him, and it seemed pointless since in America they have big sales after their Thanksgiving. Why couldn't everybody wait until then to get into the _holiday spirit?_

Hei's eyes became heavy and he found himself falling asleep. He hoped he would sleep through tomorrow completely.

DTB Christmas Carol

Misaki safely pulled up to her apartment, exited her vehicle to get her shoes soaked in a slushy puddle, and entered the building. Wet track marks from other occupants led the way over to the elevator in the back. Misaki followed it, adding to the mix, and noticing a janitor mopping up the mess with a slippery sign nearby. He muttered to himself of the mess he had to clean up, but he held his tongue while he toothlessly smiled and bowed at Misaki as she walked by. She returned the gesture.

She reached the elevators, hit the up button, and waited for it to arrive. The numbers above counted down slowly to L. The door opened in which Misaki entered, and hit the tenth floor button. The door closed and the elevator began its umpteenth journey upwards. She crossed her arms and began to think of what to do tomorrow.

Misaki thought about calling off Christmas dinner with her father, and instead eat at a restaurant that would have its doors open. It seemed heartless to do such a thing to him, but she was sick of doing the same thing every year. She felt like doing something different, but what? What was there for her to do tomorrow? Misaki thought about going to work, but her father would have kicked her out of the office, and _ordered _her to head for his place.

Li was probably enjoying himself wherever he was at, whereas she felt like she was dying. She would have liked to spend one Christmas with him, but that wasn't likely. How life could be so cruel to one being.

The elevator door opened. Misaki stepped from it and walked down the cramped and brightly lit hallway that had Garlands running down the halls above the doors. Misaki reached her room, opened the door, and entered it while flicking the lights on. Her answering machine was blinking with half a dozen messages on it. She hit the play button to listen to a bunch of advertising agencies that had her number talking about last minute shopping prices, or other nonsense that were a bother.

"_Misaki, sweetheart. I'm calling to make sure you know to be by for dinner tomorrow around three_," said her father from the machine. _"I love you._"

His message was the last on her machine.

Misaki loved her father too, but ever since she had gotten that call before Hell's Gate, she became more distant of him. She had been seeing him less, and she would think up reasons of why she hadn't called him. She wanted to interrogate him about what he knew, but she was afraid to know the answer. To her it was best not to know since she wouldn't have to throw her cuffs on him.

There was a knock on her door. Misaki sighed and walked over to open it to see Kanami smiling at her. She was wearing a red skirt that came down to her knees, a white down jacket, and a red scarf. She also held a grocery bag in her right hand.

"Kanami?" questioned Misaki. "If you think I'm going to a bar with you, forget it."

"I'm not," replied Kanami. "I'm spending the night with you since we both don't have someone to spend Christmas Eve with. And I brought beer to help settle the mood down. Just don't drink so much."

Misaki stared at her friend baffled, but she then smiled and gestured Kanami in.

----

Hei was in a deep and dreamless sleep. Nothing seemed to exist for him, except blackness. His brain felt like it had fallen asleep itself, giving it a sequence that was darker than black. He believed this was how death would feel when his luck ran out. It had its moments of not dreaming, but it also gave Hei a feeling of emptiness and loneliness.

A furry feel brushed his face, which stirred his mind from the darkness.

Hei thought at first it was a dream developing, but that was impossible and ignored it. It was probably his blanket, or maybe Yin's hair. It didn't matter anyways. He felt his mind slipping into the abyss, making the loneliness consume him again. It was his only comfort that made him feel safe once in a while, but tonight it was doing nothing for him.

It felt like he needed _someone _to lie beside him tonight that would comfort him, and even though Yin was nearby; she herself didn't sleep. In a way, she was always asleep since her eyes were forever dowsed in darkness. Life could be cruel to even the sweetest beings.

The furry feel swept across his face again, hindering his darkened dream. Hei opened his eyes and sat to gaze around the room. The television was turned off, and the heater wasn't keeping the room warm anymore. Yin wasn't anywhere to be seen either.

A cat that blended in the dark caught the corner of his left eye. He turned his head slightly to stare at it, noticing the thing was sitting while wagging its tail and it had a red collar. Hei's eyes widened in shock from the unreality he was seeing.

"That's not possible?" questioned Hei. "I—I must be dreaming."

"You're far from dreaming, Hei," said the cat. "Far as you know, we Contractors don't dream. But then again you are human too."

"But, you're dead! Aren't you?"

"Yes, I am dead, Hei," replied the cat while nodding its head.

It couldn't be true. This was some kind of joke and Yin had to have been involved. He stood from his futon, flicked on the lights, and began opening the closet doors to see if she was hiding in one of them. There was no sign of her. He put on his shoes, opened the front door, and marched outside into the heavy down pour of snow.

He treaded around the office and apartment, and stormed down the street while leaving a trail of footprints. Unfortunately he couldn't find her. Two centimeters of snow had developed on his shoulders and head, causing him to shiver from the cold. He decided to give up trying to find Yin, and turned around to head back home, but Hei stopped in his tracks at the sight of the black cat standing on a snowy fence. Not a drop of snow had accumulated on him, or had fallen off the fence.

"If you are seeking out Yin, forget it, Hei," said the cat. "I sent her out for the night."

"What? Why?" Hei furiously asked.

"To talk to you alone, and so that she doesn't have to feel alone tonight."

Hei stared at him baffled, and then grinded his teeth together while frowning. The darn cat wasn't making any sense, and if the thing weren't already dead, Hei would have killed it. He was in a bad mood due to the year, and the cat was making things worse.

"Start talking about why you are here and how?" growled Hei.

The cat sat on the fence, showing no signs that his bottom froze from icy cold snow, and it titled its head sideways to smile down at him.

"Always straight to the point, hey, Hei?" teased the cat.

Hei's rage rose, making his face no longer feel the cold breeze blowing against his skin, as his jaw line tightened and his teeth ached from the stress caused by his anger. He was tired of the games and he really wanted to hurt someone if the annoying cat didn't explain soon. Where was his landlady when he needed her good old broom?

"Start talking, now!" demanded Hei.

"All right. Bai had sent me."

Hei's wrathful mood diminished and stared at the cat with a blank stare. His sister had sent the cat to speak with him?

"Why?" he asked.

"Bai knew how lonely you would be, and she knew you would be despising this time of year," said the cat.

"So she sent you to keep me company tomorrow? That's more like a nightmare if I could have one!"

"Far from it, Hei. I'm here to tell you there will be three others that are going to meet on the hour beginning at one a.m."

"What? You're not making any sense! What do you mean three others'll meet me? Who?"

"You'll find out, Hei."

The cat jumped off the fence and ran off in the opposite direction, not leaving a footprint in the snow. Hei frowned and chased after it. The cat turned a corner in which Hei did as well, but lost sight of the thing.

Hei grinded his teeth again and muttered, "Damn it, Mao, what have you gotten me into now?"

-----

A/N: I decided to do this for the holiday. There will be five chapters total and I hope to have all of them done and posted by New Years. I'm looking over these only once or twice; so if you notice any mistakes, please let me know what and where.

Thank you.


	2. Chapter 2

Darker than Black Christmas Carol

Chapter Two:

Hei returned to his room after his conversation with Mao to see that Yin was still not present. He laid on his futon to get some sleep, but his body kept on tossing and turning. His mind had things swirling in his head, like if he had really spoken to Mao, or was he only a figment of his imagination? If he wasn't and he had been telling the truth, why would his sister send three other people? Also, where was Yin?

Things weren't going his way and it was driving him up the wall. He wanted to take his anger out on something or someone—most likely his Landlord—but that would be an idiotic move on his part since he needed to keep a low profile.

Hei gave up on trying to fall asleep and stared up at the ceiling while thinking about who would be the ones seeing him. He figured they had to already be dead, and prayed they weren't Contractors he had annihilated over the years. With his luck November Eleven would be one of them. He wished one of them was his sister, but she was the one sending three people. If Hei could, he would trade all three of them for a day with Misaki.

His mind shifted onto her. She was an attractive woman, but Misaki was also strict and conning. Although when she was around him her composure diminishes, as does his. He had thought she was going to expose his identity the day Hei almost end Amber's life, but Huang had gotten in the way.

That might have prevented her from ripping his mask off, but she had still put the pieces together, which Hei knew it, and he had believed she was going to arrest him on the streets, but she instead asked if he wanted to get something to eat. It was a splendid date, if you wanted to call it that, and Hei would have loved to sit with Misaki for the rest of their lives, but it had to come to an end.

He had seen similarities of her in him, like his desire to eat a dozen foods at once, and her craving for greasy meals, but their figures showed no signs of their hungry appetite. They also had a good sense of humor, but their emotions usually only sparked when they were around. To Hei, whenever she was present, he felt human, even though a part of him was still human. He felt so happy around her, and he knew she did too.

But the opposite occupations were what kept them apart. It was impossible for them to have a normal life together. Even if they did, Misaki would have to continuously lie to her co-workers who he was.

What was Hei anyways? Apparently Amber and Bai knew that question. He wished he could have spent a little more time with them and got the full story of what he was. It had been good to see his sister again, and he was glad to know she was still within his heart. Knowing that it had made it easier for Hei to live these past few months.

The room suddenly became extremely cold. Hei kneeled and crawled to check on the heater and saw it was still running on high. He figured the air outside had gotten colder and made a mental note to pick up another heater after Christmas. Hei wanted to fix the power unit himself, but it was a risk he didn't want to take.

Hei turned around to crawl back into bed, but he stopped and stared at a woman in a red and black jump suit with green hair and orange eyes. His eyes widened in shock as his mouth dropped to the floor.

"Merry Christmas, Hei," she smiled.

Hei fought to say her name, but he was so overwhelmed with shock it seemed Mao had caught his tongue. If she was here, then he was either dreaming somehow, or Mao had really appeared before him, and Hei was going to have two other guests.

"What, no hello, no long time no see, Amber?" said the woman.

Hei gathered himself and cleared his throat, and said, "How, why, what?"

"When or where," Amber smiled. "Surely Neko-chan told you I was coming." Hei shook his head and repeated what Mao had told him. "Oh, so that's what he told you. Well, I'm here to show you your past."

"Eh?" muttered a perplexed Hei.

"I am one of three so-called spirits that will show you your Christmas's. Past, present and future. I will be showing your pasts."

"Wh—why?"

Amber smiled while placing her hand on his shoulder and said, "That will be up to you to decided, Hei."

The room began to swirl out of focus, and then began to spin swiftly, making Hei feel like he was heading towards nothingness. He was also grateful that he didn't get motion sickness, because he would have hurled all over Amber. He wanted to know and ask how far back they were going, but as Hei found the words, the swirling stopped and he found himself in the family room of his old home in China.

It was spacious, rectangular in length, with a Christmas tree in the far left corner from the front door. There was brown couch next to the tree, and a fifty-five centimeter television in front of it under a wide window. The walls were bright white, and the tan rug that covered the floor felt soft to the feet.

Hei turned around on Amber and said, "Hey, why so close? They will see us!"

"Relax, they can't," said Amber.

Hei looked at her baffled, and then stepped in front of his parents. They sat on the couch, dressed in their robes, smiling at the siblings kneeling in front of the tree still in their pajamas, as they sipping their scorching tea. His mother was a beautiful average sized Chinese woman with long black hair and blue eyes, and his father was a plump man with short black hair. Hei waved his hands to make sure they couldn't see him, but they merely looked right through him.

Hei's seven-year-old self, and his sister's eyes sparkled with delight at the Christmas tree littered with different sizes of presents. The siblings shook away their astounded expression and began tearing into the gifts that had their names. Hei was given tons of action figures that would make a boy go bonkers blowing up with firecrackers, a telescope, and a Super Nintendo that came with Super Mario World. Bai had received tons of Barbie dolls, a playhouse for them, and a bicycle with a banana seat.

After everything was torn up, their dad hooked up the SNES to the television, and as Hei played his new game, their dad put Bai's playhouse together. Once he was finished, she joyfully trotted her dolls throughout it, as their dad worked on her bike.

"Are you two happy of what you got," their mom asked while smiling.

"Yes!" they chimed.

"That's good to know. Li, don't play so close to the television."

"All right, mom," said Hei's younger self, and backed away from the television.

He continued playing his game without missing a beat. Their mom stood from the couch and began throwing away the wrappings that had been torn off, and entered a slightly dark and cluttered kitchen to cook breakfast.

Present Hei stared at the scenery. It didn't make any sense of why Bai would want Amber to show him this time. He had been happy this year, and it would be another year until the meteors struck Tokyo and South America.

"Why am I here, Amber?" he asked.

"Do you remember the last words you had said to Misaki?" said Amber, as she looked at him.

"Yes, I do."

"But that's not true, Hei. Li Shengshun still lives in you. You can't let go of him or the past that includes him. It seems to Bai that that's what you are doing, and she doesn't want you to."

"Amber, I can't go back to that life. It's not who I am anymore. I'm a Contractor."

"No, Hei, you're not just a Contractor. You're an evolved Contractor that can hate, laugh, cry and love. That's who you are, and I brought you back to this time to show you Li isn't dead." Amber jabbed him in the chest with her index finger. "It's just that you are burying him."

Hei stared into her orange eyes baffled, and then grinded his teeth to prevent him from slapping her again. She or Bai didn't get it. Because of who he was and what he had done, he could never have a normal life, and that's why Li was dead to him. Li was the past, and Hei was his future.

Before Hei could relay the message to her, Amber placed her hand on his shoulder and made the room spin again. Moments later Hei found himself in a white and brightly lit secluded square room. He saw his younger self, now eight, sitting on a cot. He had his arms wrapped around his chest, showing that he was frightfully scared for his life. Hei remembered the day. It was a few days before Christmas when a monster that had burning red eyes, and a haunting blue highlighted skin had killed his parents. They had had their arms and legs ripped off, like they were nearly rag dolls, and then their heads. Hei thought he was next, but a bulky man in his forties had stopped the thing.

He believed he and his sister had been brought to a huge complex in the middle of nowhere in China, but he wasn't too sure. Hei had been thrown in this cold cell hours ago, making him wonder what those animals were doing to her.

The door opened and the same bulky man entered. He was heavily built, his arms almost as thick as young Hei's stomach, and his legs looked like they could kick through a foot of concrete. His camouflage shirt was stretched out tight from the muscular meat on his chest. His neck made his face seem like it was squared off, and his jaw looked like it could bite off a piece of metal. His dark eyes weren't as haunting as the monster that had killed his parents, but they still made Hei shiver in fear.

"The life you once knew is dead, boy," said the bulky man, his voice low in bass. "I will teach you how to fight and survive as time goes by."

"Can—can I see my sister, Xing?" young Hei asked.

"There is no more Xing," said the Bulky man. "There is only Bai. There is no more Li, only Hei."

Young Hei looked at him baffled, and then his eyes narrowed to show bravery before his captor.

"That's not true," he said. "My name is Li. Li Shengshun. My sister's name is Xing."

The bulky man frowned, and then socked Hei across the face, causing him to fly off his cot and skid on the floor until he plowed into the wall.

"Li and Xing are dead."

The bulky man turned and left the room, closing the door behind him. Young Hei didn't move from his spot, as he started crying. Hei remembered thinking why this was happening to them, and what was in store for them in the future? At that point Hei did believe Li was indeed dead.

"What comment do you have to say about this, Amber?" Hei asked.

"Why did you give into his statement?" replied Amber. "Was it because you were scared of him, or because he was right?"

"Because he was right!" barked Hei.

"Well, he was wrong."

"How would you know it? You're a Contractor!"

Amber stared at him hurt from his words. He had forgotten how much she had changed from when he had last seen her at Heaven's Gate. Even then she was still a little fierce.

"I might be one, and even though I didn't act on emotions back then, I still felt it," replied Amber. "After what had happened at Heaven's Gate, I wanted to see you, but I knew you would hold me responsible for what had happened, so I avoided you. I did meet you in alternate futures, and my heart grew more for you. I started thinking of a future with you, but I never saw one. You have no idea how much it killed me."

Hei stared at her baffled as tears developed in her eyes, and then run down her cheeks. He wondered how she, a Contractor and ghost, could cry? It didn't make any sense of how that was possible, but he gave it up and sorely said, "I'm sorry."

"It's all right, Hei," she replied while wiping away her tears.

Amber placed her right hand on his shoulders and made the room spin again. A few seconds later, Hei noticed they were in South America's Rain Forest. A fifteen-year-old Hei was leaning up against a tree, as he sharpened his split double-edged knife. Christmas songs were being song by a bunch of drunken fools celebrating the holiday with Contractors.

To him it didn't feel like Christmas since those monsters didn't know how to express their feelings. In Hei's opinion they probably looked at it like Mr. Scrooge. He could even picture those things muttering, "Bah, humbug," under their breath so humans couldn't hear.

He knew Bai was amongst them, and it hurt Hei to see that his sister didn't care about anything. He wanted to end her misery, but he couldn't muster the courage to kill her. He loved her dearly even thought he knew she didn't love him. It was who Contractors were.

Leaves ruffled behind him, making fifteen year old Hei turn around while taking his newly sharpened knife back-handed in his right hand. He settled himself down when he realized it was Amber.

"There you are," she said, and sat down next to him.

Hei looked away from her while continuing to sharpen his knife and asked, "What do you want?"

"And Merry Christmas to you too, Hei," criticized Amber.

"Like I believe you really mean it."

Amber frowned at him, and then looked up at the fake stars. Present Hei could tell his younger self had hurt her feelings, but there was so little emotions one wouldn't be able to tell if they weren't looking hard enough.

"You know, I once had someone I loved before the meteors had struck," began Amber. Young Hei didn't glance at her, but he instead ignored her trivial story that was probably a lie anyways. "We lived in the city of London, and we were thinking of getting married. On one Christmas not too long ago, my fiancé got on his knees and proposed. Of course I had said yes, but we never got the chance to tie the knot. The meteor had struck a year later, I became the first Contractor to appear, and then the Syndicate picked me up. They erased his memory and made him believe I had been killed in a car crash.

"I keep tabs on him once in a while. I had found out that he had married and he has two beautiful children. I wonder what our future would have been if the meteors had never crashed on Earth." She glanced over at him. "Do you ever wonder, Hei?"

"Not really. My old self is dead, and that's how it's suppose to be," replied past Hei, not looking at her.

"And I'm suppose to be the deceiver. You would make a really good Contractor."

"I'd kill myself if I did."

Amber frowned at him. Present Hei wondered what was going through her mind. Did she believe him or did she think he was deceiving himself? Amber stood and held out her right hand for him to take.

"How about we both return to the party together," suggested Amber.

"Really, there is no time for parties," replied Hei, ignoring her hand.

"No, you don't have the time," stated Amber. "You don't want to celebrate Christmas due to the fact Contractors are around."

"Damn straight," barked Hei, as he stabbed his knife into the ground. "You Contractors make me want to puke!"

Past Amber stared at him with no emotions embedding from her after younger Hei's comment, but present Hei could tell she was severely hurt. She pretended it didn't bother her, and kneeled next to him. He looked at her baffled, wondering what she was doing, but before he could ask she kissed him. His eyes lit up in shock, as his body tensed, but he gave into it and let the moment overwhelm him.

The Amber of Christmas past placed her hand on Hei's shoulder and sent them to a time where Hei was living in Kyoto three years after Heaven's Gate had disappeared. It was snowing heavily outside the small room he was occupying. An eighteen-year-old Hei was throwing on his green coat and shoes and walked out the door. Present Amber and Hei followed him, but Hei already knew where they were going.

Snow was developing on past Hei while he walked the confined streets, but none of it gathered on present Hei and Amber. They came up to a park and stood waiting for his contact. The Bulky man that had taught Hei how to survive and fight walked up next to him to try and look inconspicuous. He wore a turtleneck sweater, blue jeans, and red gloves. He also held a folder in his right hand.

"You are to be at a Christmas party to take out one of our men that we found out is a double agent," he whispered.

"Who is he and who does he work as a double agent for?" asked past Hei.

"All the information is in this folder." The bulky man handed Hei it. "Don't look at it until I leave. And one other thing, Hei, the Syndicate does not want you using your power. Make it look like an accident if you can."

"All right," nodded Hei.

Hei's former teacher began to walk off. Past Hei opened the file to reveal the traitor was a British man in his forties. He knew the man to be Harold Dongs, but they had never met each other face to face. Hei figured that that was why they wanted him to silence Harold. Hei scanned the file and read that they believed he was working for MI-6. He frowned and closed the folder.

Amber placed her hands on present Hei's shoulder, and took them a few hours into the future. They were standing in a spacious room high above the snow-covered city; with guests laughing and drinking away the night while an orchestra played Christmas music. Present Hei noticed himself dressed in a tuxedo, holding a cup of wine, while trying to look inconspicuous in the crowd. His target, dressed in a tuxedo outfit, was talking with a big man with red spiky hair, and his left eye was closed, as if it had been damaged in a fight. Past Hei recognized him as the Contractor who was part of EPR.

Past Hei waited for his target to walk off. He was getting impatient due to the fact he wanted to get away from all the goody-to-shoes, due to the fact it was bringing back bad memories.

With his luck his target left the party. Past Hei followed, along with Amber and present Hei. They walked down a hallway, decorated with Garlands and lights, and came up to an office. His target walked in and closed the door behind him. Past Hei placed his ear to the door and listened to what was going on.

"You don't have to do this," a woman said.

"I have no choice," said Dongs. "Think about it. If they succeed, then she dies. I couldn't live with that."

"She's a Contractor. Do you remember telling me what they are? It's bad enough you didn't know, and bad enough she didn't know you knew until after the fiasco. Just let it go and come back to England."

Present Hei's eyes widened in shock. He knew who this person was, and he wished he could have stopped himself for making a big mistake.

Past Hei burst into the room, causing his target to look over at him shocked, and then pulled out a revolver to shoot at Hei. Unfortunately for him Hei dodged it, grabbed the man by his arm to drop the gun, as it fired a second shot, and then threw him out of the window. The woman, who was in her forties and had red hair, screamed out in fright. Hei picked up the gun and pointed it at her, but he hesitated.

The cold wind blew at his back while it whipped his hair around, as he pondered to himself why he couldn't pull the trigger. He was a Contractor now. A cold-blooded killer, but for some reason he couldn't kill her.

Past Hei lowered the gun and walked by a desk that had pictures of two beautiful children on it. He began to feel guilty of what he had done, and he couldn't understand why. The red-haired woman continued to cry, unable to stand from what she had experienced, and from almost losing her own life.

"Why? Why didn't you kill me?" she asked.

Hei stopped and looked back at her to say, "I don't know," and continued walking off.

Amber placed her hand on Hei's shoulder and sent him back to his own time in his own room. He kneeled on the ground, unable to look up at Amber, and said, "He was your fiancé, wasn't he?"

"Yes, he was," she said. "I knew he was working for the Syndicate, but they thought I didn't. I had told him of what was going on, so he decided to work for me."

"And the Syndicate found out. I am so sorry, Amber. If I would have known, I wouldn't have taken his life."

"I know you wouldn't have, Hei. I know because you spared his wife's life, and that's all that matters to me."

Hei looked up at her to see she was smiling down at him. It warmed his heart to know she didn't blame or hate him.

Hei had wanted to know what had happened to Harold's wife after the incident. It would have seemed though that the Syndicate had gotten their hands on her, erased her memory of what had happened, and forced the news stations to say he had taken his own life. The Syndicate had not let the matter go unpunished with Hei, but he was grateful they hadn't killed him.

Amber kneeled before Hei and stared into his eyes. He looked at her puzzled, wondering what was on her mind, but then the answer came to him as she kissed him.


	3. Chapter 3

Darker than Black Christmas Carol

Chapter Three:

Hei woke up to find he was in his room alone. He began to ponder if he had fallen asleep and had dreamt about Amber taking him back in time to see his so many lonely Christmas'. It had to be since the last thing he remembered was her kissing him. He then noticed his lips were wet and tasted of her.

Had it really happened? Had Mao and Amber met him, and are there really two more to come? Was he Scrooge of the twenty-first century? Who was going to be his next visitor, and was he or she going to show his Christmas present? Would the ghost of Christmas future meet him? What would his future have waiting to show him, and was it a pleasant one, or one that had left things in disaster?

Hei didn't want to know. Some things were best left unanswered, but if people did know what waited for them, shouldn't they have the chance to change it like Amber had done?

He cursed at himself for thinking such foolish things. If somebody could come back in time and change the events, the world could be thrown in an unstable paradox. Hei wondered if Amber had ever thought of that before she had meddled with time.

Hei lay on his futon and tried to get some sleep. It didn't matter though if he did get some rest tonight since he would be spending Christmas day all cooped up in his dingy room. Maybe he should take a walk around the city and look for a new residence. That would help him keep his mind off the dismal holiday.

His eyes became heavy, which he didn't fight, as his body started to relax. Suddenly he fell into a deep sleep. There was nothing here to bug him, tell him what to do, or show him his destiny. It was peaceful; his only place where he could find Sanctuary, and there were no worries or regrets that lingered in his mind. All the pain and suffering he had caused on people didn't exist here.

"_You really think so, brother?" _asked a distorted voice, which felt like it was coming from behind him.

A weightless feeling over took Hei, as if he were floating, and turned around to see his sister standing in a pond embedded in darkness. She looked to have a grayish color to her, giving her an obscured appearance. She wore her dress she had worn when they were kids, making her seem like she was a deceptive child. Her eyes looked to have an icy stare to them, but he could see the uncertainty behind them.

"Xing?" questioned Hei, his words sounding clear to him. "Are, you the ghost of Christmas present?"

"_You really think the pain doesn't linger inside you?" _she asked again, ignoring his question.

Hei stared at her puzzled. Why would she be asking him that question when she should have already known the answer? As he was about to answer her question, his sister swirled before his eyes and encircled him. Hei tried to follow her, but his head swirled from dizziness caused by the ludicrous motion.

Suddenly it slowed down as the hurricane-like eye turned into a dozen figures from his past. The men he had killed at South America, Chiaki, Havoc, Wei, Huang, and so many others that had died because of him.

"_Do you really think that?" _they all said at once.

They came towards him with their hands stretched out, wanting their revenge for their deaths. Hei couldn't find a way to escape as they drew near. They swallowed him up, their hands somehow finding a spot around his neck, and strangled him. He fought with them, trying to get a breath of air, but he couldn't, causing him to scream out as a last resort.

Hei sat up breathing heavily from his body covered in sweat. His heart was pounding faster than he could electrocute someone, as his brain swirled with his last image. Did he just have a nightmare? It couldn't be true.

"Scary, aren't they?" asked somebody to Hei's left. "That was one of the benefits of being a Contractor."

He whipped his head around to stare at a man in the shadows sitting in his window. Hei recognized him, causing his eyes to widen and fearing his nightmare had come to life. He reached under his futon and pulled out one of his double edge blades, and threw it at the intruder. It pierced his heart, pleasing Hei, but the man showed no pain, and merely looked down at the blade. He took a hold of it with his left hand, and pulled it out to throw it onto the tatami. There was no blood from the blade or the wound, and the wound miraculously closed on its own.

Hei stared on in fear and believed he was going to meet his maker. The man stood and walked into the light that was seeping through the window from a light post. November Eleven glared down at him with a smile.

"Is that any way to say hello and wish a Merry Christmas?" he asked. "Just kidding."

Hei frowned up at him and then realized why it was possible his old rival was here. He stood up to stare at him at eye level, so not to give November Eleven the satisfaction of having Hei look up to him.

"I take it you're suppose to show me my Christmas present?" bellowed Hei with discuss.

"I am to show you a Christmas present. Not just yours. Shall we?"

"The sooner we get this over, the better."

Like Amber, November Eleven placed his hands on his shoulder, making Hei hesitate that he was about to be frozen, which he wanted to break his arm before that could happen, but instead the room swirled and he found he was surrounded by a bunch of police officers. Saitou was singing a Christmas song in English, Rudolph it sounded like, but he kept on saying "hose so tight," and Kouno was pestering that one woman he remembered saving back in the spring.

Hei grinded his teeth and glared at November Eleven to say, "You brought me here to get me arrested or something?"

"As much as I would like that, the thing is that I'm a ghost, and they can't see us," said November Eleven. "Now can you tell me who is missing from the party?"

Hei didn't know what November Eleven was getting at, but he ignored his frustration, and scanned the room. He noticed the oldest member sitting at his desk while drinking eggnog, along with other co-workers that worked on the Foreign Affair level. It seemed to Hei everybody was present, but then he realized Misaki wasn't around.

"Finally noticed," said November Eleven. "She didn't feel like celebrating and went home."

"Why?" Hei asked while hating himself for asking the former MI-6 agent.

"Because she feels like you. Misaki doesn't have the special someone in her life that would make Christmas feel vivacious to her."

"Doesn't she have her friends and co-workers? What about her father?"

"What's your excuse, BK201? You have that doll with you. Isn't she enough? No, you wish for someone even closer, as does Misaki, and I believe it's you."

"Me?" questioned Hei, as his eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. "But what about Saitou, or yourself for that matter?"

"She saw no interest in me, nor did I in her," smirked November Eleven. "As for that moron of a detective, I don't think he had ever gotten the courage to ask her out. I think he was too scared, not because Misaki was a woman, but because of how fearful she seemed. I myself thought she was a little intimidating.

"In my opinion, I think she has been the only one who really has tamed your heart. She asked you to spare Hourai's life, and you had done that. I would have ignored her plea and killed him.

"Well, I can't take anymore of Saitou's terrible versions of Rudolph, so let's be off."

November Eleven repeated his actions and sent them to Hei's old apartment complex. His neighbors and Landlady were gathered in one of the rooms down stairs, kneeling or squatting in front of a small-legged table with party flavors, beer and sake, and other things surrounding a tiny Christmas tree. His former rocker neighbor was playing Christmas tunes on his guitar, as his friend imitated him. His other neighbors were devouring the food and guzzling all the beer. His Landlady was downing a few cups of sake with ease.

"You young whippersnappers have a lot to learn about what to drink at this time of year," she hiccupped. "That stuff you're drinking is nothing. I could have one-hundred of those and not even feel a buzz."

"Really, granny?" the red-haired girl asked. "How about a challenge to that on New Years?"

"You're on!"

"I bet you both I can out drink you two," spoke up the rocker. "Me wanting to be a musician, you have to know how to hold your own liquor. "'Cause if he don't, and he's wasted, he'll make himself look like a fool like the Who's drummer."

"I heard that guy had taken way too many pills to begin with," said the red head girl."

"Maybe so, but he could rock!"

"Eh, I'll stick to my old music," said Misuzu. "This newer stuff is hard on my ears."

"Ah, it's not all bad."

The rocker jammed a note on his guitar, causing Misuzu to frown at him from the sudden note.

"I'm glad we're spending time together this time of the year," he continued saying. "I just wish that Li were here with us. This would have been perfect if he were here."

"True that!" said the girl. "Come back soon, Li! You hear me!"

"Yeah, Li. This toast is for you!" said the plump man, as he stood and raised his beer. Everyone clumsily stood and rose what they were drinking into the air. "To Li! Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas, Li!" they shouted together.

Hei stared at them baffled, but then smiled and wished he could return the gesture since he had enjoyed his time with them. They had made him feel happy, as did Misaki, and he was glad they had considered him a friend.

Hei's head drooped as he thought on the matter. He felt ashamed he had deceived them, especially their good will towards him, and he would try to find a way to make it up. However, Hei wasn't sure how he could do such a thing.

Suddenly November Eleven poked at his forehead, snapping Hei out his thoughts to look at him puzzled, and then glared devilishly at him for doing such a thing.

"Ah, sorry, sorry," said November Eleven, as he raised his arms in defeat. "I saw you lost in thought and I didn't want to see yourself getting wrinkles from worrying."

"You could have said something," stated Hei.

"Yeah, but old habits are hard to break. I do have to hand it to you though."

Hei stared at him baffled, as he wondered what November Eleven was about to praise him with. He expected it to be unpleasant due to the fact he was a Contractor, but concerning to today's events, it could also be a complement. Hei glared harshly at him as he waited.

"You were supposed to keep a low profile, but it seemed you had befriended some people," said November Eleven. "It seemed you had forgotten that."

Hei frowned and replied with, "They are a bunch of great people. It would be hard not to."

"So it would seem," said November Eleven, as he placed his hands on Hei's shoulder and took him somewhere else.

They were in an apartment that had enough space for a desktop computer, and a small television. The walls were littered with posters of anime programs, and figurines stacked on shelves. In the center of it all was Kiko lying on her stomach on tatami mats, rocking her feet unevenly back and forth while reading a manga book. She was blushing severely from what she was reading, which made Hei feel uncomfortable.

Hei glared at November Eleven displeasingly, his eyes narrowed at him like daggers, as he wondered why they were here?

A knock came from her door. Kiko looked at it angrily that she was getting interrupted from her book, and stood to check through the peephole to see whom it was. Her head jolted back a few centimeters, and then checked through the peephole to see if what she was seeing was for real. Kiko pulled her face away from the door and opened it to reveal Yin standing in the doorway covered in snow. She wasn't shivering, but Hei could tell she was cold.

"My gosh? Yin, you're drenched from head to toe! Come in and I'll make you some tea," said Kiko.

Yin bowed her thanks and entered the small room while taking off her shoes. Kiko walked over to open up her closet, pulled out a bag of tea and a cup, and poured a bottle of water in the cup. She then placed the cup in a small microwave to heat up the water. Yin kneeled in the center of the room and waited.

A half a minute later Kiko pulled out the cup, and placed the tea in it to stir it. She then kneeled before Yin and held out the cup with both hands. Yin bowed her thanks and took it with her left hand under the cup, and her right taking hold of the side. She let it sit in her hands, probably to let them thaw out, and then took a sip.

"I'm sorry, Kiko," said Yin.

"For what?" asked Kiko.

"For leaving without saying goodbye. You must hate me. I don't blame you if you want to kick me out right now."

"Don't be so absurd, Yin. I'm not mad. I would have liked a note or something, but I'm sure you had your reason. Although, I'm wondering, after so many months, why you're here?"

"I had to see you again. At least, speak with you and spend some time with you on Christmas since I have no one."

"No one?"

Yin seemed to hesitate at first. She dipped her finger into her tea to form her spectre in her cup. She must have wanted to look at Kiko, but suddenly her face turned towards where Hei and November Eleven stood. Hei felt a chilling fear overwhelm him, and wondered if dolls could see things that humans and Contractors couldn't.

If she could see him, she gave no clue in her facile expression, and turned her attentions back to Kiko. Hei believed that maybe Yin was thinking of the right words to say.

"I do, but I know his heart beats for someone else," said Yin.

"What? Who's the guy?" Kiko asked.

"Someone you don't know personally, Kiko."

"Is he the reason why you disappeared?"

"Yes," nodded Yin.

"Well then you should fight for him, like I intend to do when Li comes back from China. I won't let that old woman have my dream man."

"It's all right. I know he loves me, but his feelings go deeper with her, and I'm fine with that. As long as I can be around him, then I am happy."

Kiko blinked at her baffled and then smiled while saying, "You're a hard one to understand, Yin."

Yin placed her tea on the mat and pushed her lips up into a smile with her index fingers. Kiko picked up the manga she had been reading, and began narrating the story to Yin.

"Dolls aren't supposed to have any feelings for anything, or act on their own, but that doll breaks all the rules," said November Eleven. "I don't really recall July being like that. What's even more intrusting is that she holds you close to her own heart. Did you know that?"

"Yes I did, and I do love her, but she is right about Misaki," replied Hei. "My heart beats for her."

"So why are you hiding?"

"Are you kidding me? I'm a Contractor and she works for the Foreign Affairs."

"So what? I was once one, and I had worked for MI-6, although after finding the truth about them, I wanted to work for EPR. I almost did, but hearing about my Supervisor being apart of the Syndicate, and he too wanting to kill all of us Contractors, I had to deal with that first."

"That just shows me how much you're out of your mind," mocked Hei, as he glared at him peculiarly. "I can't go see her, and that's that!"

"I beg to differ."

November Eleven placed his hands on Hei's shoulder and sent him to another apartment. The room they were in was an expensive apartment, decorated with luxury furniture. The couch against the back wall looked to be leather, and the coffee table seemed to be made out of oak. The room itself was dimly lit, but to Hei it gave off a warm feeling. The only thing missing in the room was a Christmas tree.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. A woman with brown hair and sparkling brown eyes walked out from the back room. Hei stared at her lost for words, realizing November Eleven had taken him to Misaki's place. It had been months since he had last seen her, but it only seemed like yesterday to Hei. She was so elegant and beautiful, which made Hei regret he had to disappear from her.

Misaki opened the door to reveal her friend from high school. Kanami had a few cases of beer and some party chips in her hand. Misaki looked down at them, and frowned at her friend.

"I hope you don't think that I'm going to drink all that do you?" questioned Misaki.

"Of course not," said Kanami.

She entered the apartment, sat the beer on the coffee table, and pulled out two beers to hand Misaki one. Misaki took it miserably, as Kanami cheerfully unscrewed hers, and gulped it down while taking a seat on the couch. Misaki shook her head while grabbing a bowl, along with some dip she still had, and walked over to her friend to pour the chips in the bowl. She settled sideways next to Kanami and glared at her.

"So what did you want to talk about, Kanami?" Misaki asked, getting straight to the point.

"What makes you think I want to talk?" questioned Kanami. "Maybe I just wanted to drink and celebrate Christmas with my friend."

"Come on, Kanami. I know you. You'd rather be picking up guys tonight than talking to me."

"That's harsh, Misaki." Kanami looked over at Misaki, their eyes meeting each other. Neither of them blinked. They sat there for half a minute before Kanami gave in and nodded her head. "All right, I did. You need to get over Li."

Misaki kept her eyes on her friend, as Hei wondered if Misaki told Kanami she knew who BK201 was. Had Misaki done such a thing and informed her co-workers and friends the truth about him. His heart pounded heavily against his chest, as if it had been betrayed, but yet she was a police officer and she had to follow protocol.

"He's in China and you're here," Kanami finished.

Hei let out his breath that he didn't realize he was holding. She hadn't told them. Misaki had kept that information to herself, but why? Did she really care for him? Was there more than friendship in her heart for him? Did Hei have the same feelings for her?

"I can't forget about him, Kanami," replied Misaki. "I dream about him every night, which I can't sleep because of it, and my work performance is sluggish as well."

"Well then why don't you take some time off, look him up, and go see him?" stated Kanami. "And maybe you can work something out with immigrations and bring him back. Heck, marry the guy!"

"Kanami!" Misaki blushed, as Hei too felt his cheek turn red. "It's more complicated than that."

Misaki cracked open her beer and drank it, as Kanami stared at her friend baffled.

"Oh, come on, Misaki," said Kanami frustrated. "What's the big deal? It's not like he's a Contractor?"

Misaki spewed out her beer from Kanami's comment. Her desk was covered in foamy beer, and her television before them had wet spots all over it. Kanami slanted her eyelids at her friend, and then they widened while her mouth dropped, as Misaki wiped at the beer seeping down her cheek. She glanced over at Kanami, but she ended up looking away. Misaki couldn't meet her friend's eyes because Hei was a Contractor, and Misaki had let the information slip out.

She stood from the couch to grab some wipes to clean up the mess, as Kanami wordlessly mouthed, "Oh my."

Before Hei could find out what happened next, November Eleven took him from Misaki's home to return to his. It had felt like it had gotten colder, which made Hei wrap his arms around his chest. November Eleven didn't seem bothered by it.

"Interesting day, wouldn't you say?" he asked with a smirk.

"What, interesting for you to see me miserable?" Hei asked.

"Not at all. Just because I had been a Contractor, doesn't mean I still am. To tell you the truth, now that I look back on it, I am jealous of you, BK201."

"Me, why me?"

"Because for one, I knew there had been something special about you, and two, you're the one who stole Kirihara Misaki's heart."

Hei stared at him puzzled, and then averted his eyes so he could think about it. Had he really bewitched her, or was this some kind of game. Hei wanted to know. He looked back at November Eleven for the answer, but he was nowhere to be seen.

What was going on here? Was everything he was experiencing, his mind messing with him, or had these events really happened? It was getting under his skin, and he would shock his own brain if it were the one tearing at his heart.

A sudden motion caught the corner of Hei's left eye, which caused him to glare over at it. He figured it was November Eleven screwing with him, but the person was far from him. Hei stared at the person petrified, his body shivering not from the cold, but the appearance of the being. It was far from possible. He believed he was having another nightmare, but Hei was far from waking up.

The person was dressed in a black trench coat, seeming heavy to wear, and a mask that could scare the life out of even the bravest of men.

Hei was staring at himself.


	4. Chapter 4

Darker than Black Christmas Carol

Chapter Four:

Hei stood motionless, as if November Eleven had frozen his body completely, while he contemplated on how this was possible. Maybe himself being here as the ghost of Christmas future meant that he was dead. No, Hei didn't want to think that. There was some reasonable explanation concerning the manner, and truth would eventually come out tonight.

Coming over his fears, Hei gulped away his agony and asked, "You're here… to show me… my future?"

The Black Reaper didn't reply to his comment. He stood like a statue gazing at Hei, as if he were measuring him up before a fight. Hei had done it so many times throughout his career, and it had been efficient with his tougher opponents, but now Hei was on the receiving end of it. It was intimidating, which made him sweat heavily in a frigid room. Hei wondered if his other half was going to attack him. He readied himself incase his next task was dueling to meet the ghost of Christmas future.

After a minute of a staring contest, the Black Reaper nodded to his question. Some of the tension that Hei had been feeling lifted off him to let him breathe easily. Even though one of his worries had been put to rest, he still had others swarming around in his stomach. He figured his next journey was going to seem like it would last the rest of the night.

The Black Reaper slowly approached Hei, making him tense like a feline, and readied for what was next. The Reaper merely placed his right hand on Hei's shoulder and took him to a waiting future.

They appeared in a confined apartment room with nothing in it. Snow was falling outside of a window with Tokyo Tower in view. It glimmered in the cloudy forecast, giving the city what seemed like comforting warmth, but the person sitting on the floor eating tons of food didn't relinquish in it.

Hei's future self was still thin, but he had let his hair grow longer, and his face seemed to have developed some wrinkles on the forehead. He was wearing a black turtleneck sweater and black jeans, giving his appearance a dark feeling. In his facile expression there seemed to be no Li embedding from it.

Present Hei looked back at the Reaper and asked, "How far into the future are we?"

The Black Reaper slowly raised his hands and showed five fingers. Hei felt an emptiness develop inside him as fear for Contractors surfaced.

"Did Pandora try to reactivate the Saturn System?" he asked.

The Black Reaper nodded.

"Did they succeed this time?"

The Black Reaper raised his gloved index finger to the lip of the mask to gesture for Hei be quiet. Hei frowned at him, but he did what was demanded, and stared back at his future self. At least he was pleased he had gotten the heck out of the old apartment and had found a new place.

The door opened to allow an older Yin in. Her hair was still silver, but it was hanging down with bangs and no curls. She wore a pink blouse under a brown down-jacket and a long blue skirt that swept the floor. She removed high heels, walked over to the sink to pour water in a pan, and kneeled in front of Hei while placing her hands in it. Her spectre appeared.

"You're not going to see her today?" Yin asked.

Future Hei sucked up a noodle strand and said, "You should know the answer to that question, Yin."

"But, Hei, it's Christmas. You can't let her be alone today."

"She's not alone, Yin. She has her father, friends, co-workers, and her… daughter," replied future Hei, as he forced himself to say the last word.

Yin was quiet for a few seconds before saying, "Don't you want to see _her?_"

Future Hei placed his bowl down before him and glared at Yin displeased. His anger grew heavily in his eyes from her comment, and it seemed like the devil himself was rising. However, before it could happen, future Hei settled his anger down and picked up his bowl.

"I would love nothing more than to see her, but I would put them in danger," replied Hei. "It's bad enough Kanami knows. If any of Misaki's other co-workers find out, who knows what will happen for Misaki and her daughter."

Yin frowned. She wanted to say more, but she knew it was pointless with the way future Hei was acting. Yin stood, causing her spectre to vanish, and walked over to the door to put on her high heels. Once she had fitted them on, she looked back at future Hei with her own eyes, seeing if she could make sense with them, and then looked away to gaze at present Hei.

"I hope you change after seeing this, Hei," she whispered.

Hei's body stiffened. He was right about Yin being able to see him with her spectre. He didn't know how that was possible, but he wondered what kind of things she had seen over the years.

Yin walked out the door and closed it behind her. Present Hei looked back at himself to see he was eating again. He became angry with his future self and walked over to him to kneel before the moron.

"Why are you stuffing your face?" present Hei asked. "Go see her! It won't hurt you or anybody else to say Merry Christmas! So what if she has a child. Go! GO!!"

The Black Reaper walked up behind him to take him from his future home, and into Misaki's apartment. It was filled with her co-workers and decorated with Garlands along the walls. A Christmas tree stood in the corner with presents underneath it. Saitou was singing Christmas carols again, and he was getting the words wrong as well. He was trying to sing "Rocking around the Christmas tree," but the r was coming out like an f.

"Saitou!" yelled Ootsuka. She was wearing a Santa dress, looking sexy for the guys. "I'd stop singing if I were you!"

"Why?" Saitou asked.

"I don't think Misaki wants her daughter to hear you sing the f word."

"What are you talking about, I'm singing Fo…"

Kouno smacked the back of Saitou's head and said, "It's coming out as a bad word, Saitou."

"Oh, sorry."

Saitou did what was asked, and went over to the table to pour another drink. Hei scanned the room to see if he could find Misaki, but he couldn't spot her in the crowd. He began to wonder whom the person Misaki loved and was her daughter's father. He would have figured Saitou, but it was clear he wasn't the father. It might have been Kouno, but he had said, "Misaki's daughter," and he was flirting with girls around the apartment.

Hei was pleased to know she had had a daughter, and he began to ponder what she looked like. He continued looking around, hoping to spot the child, but she had to be no older than four, and it would have been impossible for him to notice her mixed in with the guest.

Suddenly he saw a pair of eyes he had adored from across a restaurant table, but there were no glasses shielding them from their true beauty. The person had an adorable face that reminded him of an embarrassed expression he had seen at a clothing store, but her cheeks weren't cheery red. The only difference was her black and silky hair, giving the little girl a different beauty, and she was a child.

Hei's eyes widened from shock at the girl's close resemblance to Misaki. She looked to be around two or three, and she was wearing a cute red dress with white stockings, and a red bow in her hair. She was zigzagging through the cluttered guest, looking for someone, but she couldn't find him or her.

"Mama?" the girl cried out. "Mama?"

"Over here, sweetheart!" called out Misaki's voice.

Hei and the little girl looked in the direction to see Misaki standing in the far corner. The little girl ran over to join her mother, as did Hei. Her years of motherhood had been kind on her figure, but it wasn't generous to her facial feature. She had developed a few lines on her forehead, and her eyes seemed to age from experience. However, Hei thought she was even more beautiful than he had seen her the first time back at his apartment.

Misaki wore casual clothing, her usual glasses, and her hair hung loose behind her back. The color of her hair had dimmed, but it still gave her an elegant look. She was holding a glass of eggnog that was half-full in her right hand. Misaki seemed she was trying to avoid the party, which it looked like her daughter had realized it too.

"Mama, what you doing?" she asked. "Come on."

"I'm fine sweetie," replied Misaki, sounding like she was drunk.

"No you not. I tell, Mama."

Misaki averted her eyes from her daughter while frowning, but then she looked down at her while trying to smile.

"I'll be fine. Go and enjoy the party with Saitou and the others," she said.

"But, Mama?"

"Go."

Misaki gestured her daughter to have fun. The little girl stared at her for a second, and then trotted off to disappear in the crowd. Misaki's smile vanished as she downed the rest of her drink, and then went for another glass.

Kanami worked her way over to Misaki displeased and stopped her from drinking any more. Misaki frowned at her friend and knocked Kanami's hand away to get her drink.

"What is wrong with you, Misaki?" Kanami whispered.

"Nothing," replied Misaki, as she started downing her drink.

Kanami's jaw line tightened from Misaki's lie, and then she grabbed her friend by her shirt to direct her to a back room on the right. Hei followed with the Black Reaper trailing, and entered a bedroom, as the door closed. It was somewhat spacious with a western style bed in the center, and a dresser to the left with a picture of Misaki and her daughter. There was a family picture of them hanging to the right, which made Hei wonder why the husband wasn't present in it. A wool rug lay on the floor.

"There is something wrong with you, and I know it has something to do with Li-kun," replied Kanami.

"His name isn't Li, its Hei," replied Misaki.

"That's what he had told you, but what do you think?"

"I don't know what to think anymore; especially about him. I just want to forget about him and move on with my daughter."

"But you can't, can you?"

Misaki stared at her friend, and then looked away since she knew it was true.

"What am I to do?" she asked. "I don't know where he is, and I only met him four times in the past five years. Our second encounter went a little too far, and the last time I saw him he was fighting off the Syndicate. That day had almost gone too far as well."

"Does he know about her?"

Misaki gulped from the empty feeling at the pit of her stomach. Hei wondered if Kanami was talking about her daughter, and figured she was wondering if Misaki had told him about her.

"He does," replied Misaki.

"Does she know about him?"

Misaki rounded on her friend and glared at her devilishly for asking such a question. Kanami raised her hands in defeat.

"Look, Misaki," began Kanami, as she lowered her hands. "You can't go on like this. You and Li need to sit down and talk. That's all I'm going to say on the matter."

She exited the room and closed the door to leave Misaki alone. Hei watched her closely, as he wondered what she was thinking. She stood still as her eyes glimmered with thoughts circulating in the back of her mind.

"Forget," muttered Misaki.

She exited the room with Hei and the Black Reaper following. She walked over to the door to grab a thick coat and place her shoes on, and then opened the door to leave the party. Everybody looked at the door wondering where she was going. Hei noticed Misaki's daughter had seen her mother leave, which caused her eyes to ball up in tears and cry. Kanami walked over to kneel before her and embrace her.

"Does mama hate me?" she asked.

"No, sweetie, she's just having a hard time," replied Kanami. "She's always had this problem around the holidays."

The little girl poured her heart out on Kanami's shoulder, as everybody watched in agony. Hei looked back at the Black Reaper and asked, "Is she going to look for me, or is she going to see the girl's father?"

The Black Reaper stood still. Hei's anger rose inside of him from the Reaper's speechless reply. He grabbed the Black Reaper's coat and pulled him close to him.

"Answer me! Why do I keep haunting Misaki? Am I the reason why Misaki isn't with the little girl's father?"

The Black Reaper nodded. Hei furiously pushed away from him and looked back at the child. How he hated himself for getting in between them, and wondered what he could do to fix things?

The Black Reaper placed his hands on Hei's shoulder and took him to another time. They stood in a snow-covered graveyard with flakes fluttering heavily down from the sky. Thunder could be heard, as lightening struck behind buildings. Misaki, Kanami, Saitou, Ootsuka, and Kouno stood in front of a grave dressed in black. Hei noticed Misaki was older, he believed she was in her forties, and she was holding a dozen roses.

She placed them before the grave and then stood up straight, as tears ran down her cheeks. Kanami walked up beside her and embraced her.

"We're so sorry, Misaki," she said.

"Thank you, Kanami," replied Misaki, as she pushed away from her friend.

"If there is anything we can do for you, just name it," said Saitou.

"Yeah, anything," replied Ootsuka and Kouno.

"Thank you," replied Misaki, as she wiped her tears with her sleeve. "I feel it's my fault that this all happened."

"Misaki, don't blame yourself," said Kanami. "You had no idea she was going to follow in his footsteps. You did your best to keep her away from that. She may have hated him, but it was her decision to continue his legacy, and she got herself killed."

"I know, but I could have saved her."

"You don't know that for sure," said Kouno. "You could have gotten yourself killed in the process."

"If it meant saving her, I welcome dying, rather than burying her. No parent should feel the pain I'm feeling right now."

Kouno looked at the ground, realizing he had over stepped his boundaries, and said, "I'm sorry, Misaki."

"It's all right."

Misaki and her friends headed to exit the grave with Misaki giving the grave a kiss goodbye. Hei watched them leave, and then walked up to the grave to read the name. Hei couldn't believe his own eyes. His heart pounded heavily at whom's name was on it.

It said, "Kirihara Riku," on it, and he knew the child was Misaki's daughter.

"No, it can't be true?" muttered Hei. He stared back at the Black Reaper. "It's not true! All of this is a lie you are feeding me! Is it not?"

The Black Reaper shook his head. Hei's anger rose even more from the speechless Reaper.

"Tell me? What happened to me?" Hei asked.

The Black Reaper looked past him and pointed to another grave. Hei freaked out and looked in the direction. In the distance was a woman with silver hair standing in front of a grave. His eyes widened as far as they could, as he recognized an older Yin. He hurried over to it and stared down at the name. It read, Hei's convenient name.

Hei fell to his knees as his body drained of energy. He was dead, but how?

"The Syndicate found your weakness," spoke up Yin.

"My weakness?" Hei asked, as he looked at her. "What was my… Misaki?"

"No," replied Yin while shaking her head. She looked into his eyes with hers. "Your weakness they had gone after was Riku."

"Eh?" muttered Hei, as he looked at her puzzled.

"She's your daughter, Hei."

Thunder and lightening came crashing down behind him, as it lit up the city. Time seemed to stop while he took in the information that had been presented to him. It couldn't be true, but now as Hei placed in all the pieces of what Misaki had said, it made sense. The little girl he had seen crying was his own flesh and blood. It was unbearable to comprehend, and it hurt him severely to even accept it.

How was it possible, he a Contractor, able to love and have a child? What had happened to where Misaki and he had intimacy and had a child together, and were they even thinking of the possibility that the child could have been born a Contractor?

It was a foolish thing for them to do, but deep down the thought of having a child warmed his heart. He imagined tickling her to make her laugh, chase her around for fun, and even knocking out a few of her boyfriend's teeth.

Reality hit him again and believed none of that had happened since his future self was too arrogant. His heart began to ache knowing that she was going to die because of him.

Hei stood and grabbed the Black Reaper's coat to say, "Why have you shown me this horrible future?" The Black Reaper didn't respond. "For crying out loud, answer me!"

"So you can change the way you think about things," said the Black Reaper calmly.

Hei stared at the Reaper perplexed. He didn't sound like himself. He didn't even sound like a man, but a woman. Hei grabbed the mask to throw it aside and stared into elegant brown eyes.

"N—no, you can't be?" he asked puzzled. "You're—you're the ghost of Christmas future?"

"That's right, Dad," said the woman. "I wanted to show you my future and how much pain I suffered because of your arrogance."

"I had no choice!"

"Everybody has a choice. It's our choices in life that affects everyone around us. Because of you thinking that mom and you lived two different lives, you two couldn't be together. It was a lie to deceit your own heart, and mom's.

"Now you have a choice to make, Dad. Either continue on as you think, knowing what will happen, or change it to change the future."

Riku placed her hand on his shoulder, and then made everything go blank.


	5. Chapter 5

Darker than Back Christmas Carol

Chapter Five:

Hei jolted awake while throwing his covers aside. The room felt pleasantly warm to him, as he noticed his heater was blaring on full, and the morning sun was shining through his window. He then gazed around it to see if anyone was present, but there wasn't. What had happened last night? Was it true, or was it only his imagination? Whatever it was, he had made up his mind of what he would do to assure the future he had foreseen didn't become true.

Hei stood to walk over to his window and stare out it. It had stopped snowing, giving the city an elegant white glow, as three boys rumbled around the snow-covered streets while throwing snowballs at each other. He cursed that he couldn't open the window, and hurried over to the door to put on his shoes and throw on his coat. He busted through the door, bolted down the stairs, and ran over to the boys.

"Excuse me!" shouted Hei. The three boys looked over at him puzzled. "Can you tell me what day it is?"

"Have you been hit in the head, Mister?" the short boy asked.

"Yeah, it's Christmas Day, you baboon," said the plump boy.

He smiled with glee while ignoring what the two boys had called him since he was amazed that the three spirits had done everything in one night. Maybe it wasn't too late to fix things.

"Tell me, do you know if there are any food markets that are open right now?" Hei asked.

"Eh, my dad had said some of the stores in the subway's mall should be opened," said the tall boy.

"Thanks," said Hei. He dug into his pant's pocket, pulled out three thousand yen bills, and handed them to the boys. "And Merry Christmas."

Hei ran off down the street, kicking up snow behind him, as the boys blinked at him baffled. They stared down at their new currency, and then they looked at each other still dumbfounded.

"So what's the morons deal?" the plump boy asked.

"Who cares," smiled the tall boy. "Because of him I can get what my parents wouldn't get me for Christmas."

"Yeah!" agreed the short boy.

----

Misaki's eyes slowly and displeasingly opened and stared at the clock to see it read nine in the morning. She frowned at it as she fiddled for her glasses and placed them on. She sluggishly stood from her western style bed, scuffled into her living room, and remembered Kanami had crashed on her couch, as she noticed her friend sprawled over it while snoring heavily. Misaki shook Kanami's shoulder to wake her. Kanami moaned in protest, and shifted her body position so she was facing towards the back portion of the couch.

"Hey, Kanami, get up!" ordered Misaki.

Kanami didn't respond, as she clicked her tongue and returned to her dreams. Misaki rolled her eyes while throwing her arms up in defeat. She returned to her room, grabbed her work clothes from her closet, and entered her bathroom to shower.

After a half an hour of cleansing her body of the midnight stench and doing her hair and makeup, Misaki reentered her living room to see Kanami was still fast asleep. She believed her friend could sleep through an earthquake.

She sighed at the thought and exited her apartment to head to work. Even though it was Christmas, to her work still needed to be done since Contractors wouldn't take the day off to see their relatives, if they hadn't killed them yet.

Misaki walked up to the elevators and pushed the down button. Moments later it dinged on her floor and opened, allowing her to step onto the elevator. She hit the lobby button, and waited a moment for the doors to close so the elevator could descend. Seconds later she reached the lobby floor. She stepped from the elevator, exited the apartment, and headed over to her car. As she drew closer to it and saw it covered in thick piles of snow, along with the roads, she decided to take the subway.

---

Yin kneeled quietly while Kiko snored away the morning. She thought about returning to the new apartment Hei and she were sharing, but after seeing Hei last night with the former MI-6 agent, she believed Hei was going to want some private time with the officer woman. She contemplated about what she had said to Kiko, wondering if it were true to her feelings, and as she had thought it through the night she was right.

She placed her finger in her tea she hadn't finished last night, and gazed around the city. Hei wasn't in their apartment, or anywhere else nearby. She continued her search and found him roaming around the subway with a turkey in a grocery bag. He was smiling as he wished everyone a Merry Christmas. Suddenly he stopped and gazed at her spectre slightly surprised.

"_Yin?" _Hei questioned, but he then smiled while saying, "_Merry Christmas._"

Hei continued on, heading up a set of stairs, which Yin recognized.

"Merry Christmas, Hei," whispered Yin.

"Nn?" muttered Kiko, as she tiredly woke and squatted. "Yin, why are you still here? Don't you have a relative you want to be with?"

"No, but I was hoping I could spend the day with a friend, if you don't mind?" Yin asked.

Kiko titled her head curiously, but then she smiled and said, "I would love that."

----

Hei trampled through the snow as he headed down a familiar neighborhood with his bag swaying. He didn't know if what he was about to do was the right thing, but he had to see them again. They were a blast to be around, and it wouldn't seem right if he didn't drop by to say hi. He turned into the apartment complex where he had stayed at to hide, walked up to a door on the first floor, and knocked on it. He waited patiently with a smile on his face, and he couldn't help wanting to know what his old neighbor's faces would look like when they saw him.

Seconds passed with no answer, which caused Hei to knock on the door again. Time slipped by again and still no one opened the door. Hei figured they were still asleep from the partying. He turned to leave, but then the door opened.

"LI-KUN!!" shouted the red-haired girl ecstatic.

Hei turned around while scratching the back of his neck and said, "Eh, hello, and Merry Christmas. I got a turkey for you all."

The red-haired girl stared down at his bag, and then looked over her shoulder to shout, "Hey, everyone, Li-kun's back!"

His neighbors, still asleep, woke up suddenly, and barged over to the door.

"Eh? Li-kun?" they shouted.

They grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him into the room while slamming the door shut. Hei kneeled in front of the small table, as the rocker dude put the turkey in a small fridge.

"How are you back?" his landlady asked.

"Immigration let me back for the holidays," said Hei. He hated to lie to them, but he thought of it more like protecting them. "I was in the neighborhood, and I wanted to stop off and wish everyone a Merry Christmas."

"Well doesn't that rock!" said the rocker dude.

"We're sorry, Li," began the plump man. "We didn't get you anything."

"Ah, it's all right," spoke up Hei. "Just being here is enough."

They began to talk about what had happened while Hei was away. They mentioned about the Contractors, which they said they didn't mind them; stating humans were as bad, if not worse. Hei smiled at their comment.

----

The subway train was deprived of commuters, making the advertisement of Christmas stuff hanging from the ceilings and strung up along walls seem senseless. The train rocked slightly side to side, as the metal wheels clicked in a continuous rhythm on the tracks. Misaki sat quietly in the center against the wall, as she waited for the train to arrive at Shibuya.

The train pulled into a station and opened its doors to allow a few commuters on. A middle-aged man stepped onto it and sat a few seats down from Misaki. He pulled out a black berry from his coat pocket and began texting someone, as the door closed. The train continued its journey down the darkened tunnel.

Misaki glanced towards him and noticed he was wearing a business suit. She guessed he was heading for work since he didn't have anybody to spend Christmas with, but then she noticed the ring on his finger. She began to wonder if his job had forced him to go to work.

Life was a hard case to deal with. In order to live in this world you had to spend most of it working. In her opinion there was little time for fun and family. Because of it she thought best not to get involved with someone so she could worry about her career.

However, after meeting Li, she couldn't stop thinking about what it would be like to be with someone and maybe have a family. She imagined having children running around a small apartment complex, and perhaps a cat or dog too.

Misaki blushed at the thought, and then shook it away, as reality hit. The man she liked a lot was the most fearsome Contractor in the world, and she was the one who had to arrest him. How could they live a normal life like that? Was such a thing even possible?

The announcer over the speaker indicated they had arrived at Shibuya. The train came to a halt and opened its doors.

Misaki exited the train and headed up the stairs to trample through a thick layer of frozen flakes. She began to wonder if the man she knew as Li was ever thinking about her; not only now, but also after the situation at Alice's party, and her catching him holding a bra.

She would love nothing more than to spend the day with him; eating tons of food, and maybe strolling through a park hand in hand. However, that wasn't likely. Misaki wished the meteors had never crashed, but if it hadn't then she might have never met Li.

Li? Was that even his name or only a cover name so he could hide from the authorities? She knew Hei was his codename, so what was his real name? It had to be Chinese, unless he was lying about his race, but she doubted it.

Misaki walked up the ramp to the Head Quarter's entrance, and entered to head over to the elevator. A security guard, wearing a Santa hat, bowed at her in which she returned. She hit the up button to have the door slide open. She stepped in, hit the Foreign Affairs floor, and waited a few seconds before reaching it.

The door chimed open. Misaki gazed at the mess throughout the office, and her co-workers passed out on the floor drunk. She sighed at them, knowing she wouldn't get anything done with them snoring away, and hit the down button.

Once the doors opened again on the lobby floor, she exited it while bowing at the security guard, as she wished him a Merry Christmas, and departed the duplex. She retreated to the subway, and headed to the last place she thought about going to.

----

Hei laughed hysterically with his former neighbors, as they devoured a party mix, and downed beer and sake that hadn't been drank yet. He began to feel a little tipsy and decided to stand up to sing a D'espairsRay song poorly. The red-haired girl whipped her right arm forward at him to give energy while everybody clapped ecstatically.

After two hours of partying, he apologized that he had to leave them.

"Ah, but it seemed like you just got here?" said the plumped man.

"I know, but there is someone else I need to see," replied Hei.

"A woman?" asked his Landlady.

Hei smiled while nodding. Everyone awed at him, in which it made him blush and scratch the back of his head. They wished him good luck, and a Merry Christmas.

"Thank you, and Merry Christmas," he replied.

Hei left his old apartment and headed for the subway. The sun was shining down through cloudy skies. He felt jolly, which the cold didn't affect him, or was it the booze. It didn't matter to him. The only thing he cared for was to see Misaki. He was risking being arrested, but he would take the chance to see her on an important day like today.

He heard footsteps approaching him, which caused him to look up to get a look at the person so he wouldn't run into him or her. He stopped in his tracks as his eyes widened in shock at the person. The person also didn't move any further while she too looked on surprised.

Misaki looked so beautiful standing before him, her hair pulled back, and her brown eyes sparkling behind her glasses. Hei wanted to run over to her and embrace her, but a part of him was telling him to run. She was a cop and she was going to arrest him. He ignored that side of him, and listened to his heart pounding heavily against his chest for him to say something, but he couldn't find the right words. To his relief Misaki was also struggling with her emotions.

He fiddled with his mind to think of something, but the words were scrambled in his head, as if someone had poured out letters from a bag for him to form a sentence.

He mingled with what made sense, and spat out, "Would—would you like to get something to eat?"

Misaki didn't respond. It seemed to Hei that she was trying to believe that what she was seeing was true, since her eyes where dazzled in confusion. He waited for her to reply, wondering if she was going to take him up on his offer, or take him to the police station. He prayed it wasn't the latter while his palms dowsed in sweat on a cold and chilly day.

Her body settled down as she smiled at him, allowing him to breathe easier.

"I would love to," she replied.

Hei returned the gesture, walked up to her, and held out his hand. She looked at it for a second, and then took it. They walked down the street, looking for a place to eat, as they kept on avoiding each others eyes since they felt a little sheepish. They located a ramen restaurant and entered to see the diminutive and somewhat unoccupied diner. A couple of people were sitting on stools in front of where the chef was cooking meals and handing them over.

Hei and Misaki took a cramped booth and sat across from each other. Their eyes met for a few seconds, but then they averted away. They continued their actions until a waitress came up to them.

"Can I get you two something?" she asked.

"Eh, I'll have three bowls of ramen," said Hei.

The waitress stared at him puzzled for a second, but then she looked over at Misaki to ask, "And you, Miss?"

"One bowl of ramen," said Misaki.

The waitress bowed and walked off to give the chef the order. Hei gazed at the floor, and figured if they didn't look at each other he could avoid speaking to her, but he didn't want to. He fought against his discomfort and stared at her. She looked down at the table, but gazed up to look into his eyes. Her eyes glimmered with delight to be with him, but they also showed their uncertainty concerning their situation.

"I—I can't stop thinking of you," began Hei. "I had a dream of you last night. I had to see you, no matter what the cost."

Misaki looked at him puzzled. She was probably contemplating on how it was possible for him to dream. She averted her eyes as her lips worked out words to say something, but nothing came out.

Misaki came to her senses and was about to speak, but the waitress had come by to give them their meal. She blushed slightly as she thanked the waitress and took her meal. Hei bowed his thanks while he took his. The waitress returned the gesture and walked off.

Hei picked up his chopsticks, as did Misaki, but they didn't touch their meal. They instead gazed at each other. Misaki looked down at her food so she could find it slightly easier to speak.

"So—what happened in your dream?" she asked.

Hei told her a portion of his dream. After he finished telling her about the little girl Riku, she stared at him flabbergasted. They didn't speak for the longest time, as they fell into the restaurant's silent atmosphere. He felt awkward and wished they could talk to each other as they had last time together, but they were walking on thinner ice. Misaki could no longer look the other way about Hei and Li being the same person.

Hei cursed at his thoughts. He had said to her that Li was dead, but that wasn't true. The truth was that there was no going back for him, and he wanted her to forget about him so she could move on. Unfortunately she couldn't. He wanted to make sure she would give up in which he hung around his old apartment, hoping she wouldn't snoop around it, but she had. Misaki had even chased after him until he had vanished from her sight.

"S—so, where do we go from here?" Misaki asked, as she looked over at him.

Hei didn't avert his eyes while he thought of a reply.

"I don't know," he finally said. "But where we go, I want to be in your life; no matter what."

"It would be best if we stayed away from each other."

"Maybe, but could we stay away from each other?"

Misaki pondered on his words, her eyes glimmering with thoughts, and then returned to her meal.

A half an hour later they finished their meal. Hei paid for it and exited the restaurant with Misaki. It had started to snow again, adding to the accumulation that had already developed.

They walked down the snowy terrain, and came up to the small park with the elephant slide. The slide was blanketed by the thick snow, as was the bench.

He guided Misaki into it, making her stare in wonderment of why they were entering it, and stopped her beside the slide. Misaki and Hei's footsteps indicated they were the parks only occupants, giving it a dismal and lonely feeling. Something above her caught her attention in which she looked up.

"Mistletoe," muttered Misaki.

Hei looked up as well, and then they gazed into each other's eyes. They kept their gaze on each other, and reframed from blinking so not to miss the moment they were sharing. Snow had built up on her shoulder and hair, which gave her an elegant look that resembled an angel.

Hei closed the gap between them, believing she would back away from him, but she didn't. Their bodies were slightly apart, but he was close enough to smell her warm breath. His heart raced hysterically, as he vigorously wanted to kiss her, but he wasn't sure if she had felt the same thing. He placed his right hand on her cheek to caress it, wanting to see if she would fight him on his emotions, but she merrily melted into his touch.

He slowly drew to kiss her in which she flinched back slightly, as she herself wasn't sure of her feelings. He didn't fight her uncertainty, and let her decide what she wanted to do. Her eyes stared deeply into his eyes, as she searched for anything in him that showed her he was deceiving her.

After what seemed like an eternity to them, she closed her eyes and pressed her lips to his.

----

Five years later

Misaki's apartment was decorated with Garlands along the walls, and a Christmas tree in the corner with presents underneath it. Her friends were gathered around talking about what they were giving or getting for Christmas. Ootsuka, wearing a Santa dress to look sexy for the guys, stood next to Kouno while laughing at a joke told by a co-worker as she held a glass of eggnog.

Kanami was gossiping with a man from her work, as she gazed around the crowded room looking for someone. Kunio was talking with his wife while holding a cup of punch.

Misaki stood in the far corner as she drank a cup of punch. She wore casual clothing, her usual glasses, and a Santa hat covering her hair that hung loose behind her back. It seemed like she was avoiding the party, but that wasn't the case. For the past four years she had to deal with this holiday, which was slightly annoying, but she dealt with it to be with him.

Someone started to sing which caught her attention and noticed Saitou had begun caroling, "Rocking around the Christmas tree." She figured he'd get a course wrong, but she didn't expect him to roll the r in rock into an f.

Misaki frowned and was about to knock him across the back of his head, but she stopped as Ootsuka shouted, "Saitou! I'd stop singing if I were you!"

"Why?" Saitou asked.

"I don't think Misaki wants her daughter to hear you sing the f word."

"What are you talking about, I'm singing Fo…"

Kouno smacked the back of Saitou's head and said, "It's coming out as a bad word, Saitou."

"Oh, sorry."

Saitou did what was asked, and went over to the table to pour another drink. Misaki sighed and returned to her drink. Every year that big dolt tried to sing a Christmas song, and every time he got something wrong. She didn't know why he even bothered.

"Mama?" cried out Misaki's daughter. "Mama?"

"Over here, sweetheart!" called out Misaki.

Moments later a pair of brown eyes and an adorable face appeared out of the crowd. Her daughter had her looks, but she had her father's black and silky hair, giving her elegance in Misaki's opinion.

"Mama, what you doing?" she asked. "Come on."

"I'm fine sweetie," replied Misaki.

"No you not. I tell, Mama."

Misaki averted her eyes from her daughter while frowning, but then she looked down at her while trying to smile.

"I'll be fine. Go and enjoy the party with Saitou and the others," she said.

"But, Mama?"

"Go."

Misaki gestured her daughter to have fun. The little girl stared at her for a second, and then trotted off to disappear in the crowd. Misaki watched in delight, as Kanami worked her way over to Misaki displeased.

"What's the deal, Misaki?" Kanami whispered.

"What do you mean, Kanami?" Misaki asked while finishing her drink.

She walked over to her kitchen counter to get another glass with Kanami on her tail.

"You know perfectly well. Riku's father?" pointed out Kanami.

Misaki frowned at her friend, as she sipped at her glass.

"It's all right," replied Misaki.

Kanami's jaw line tightened, grabbed Misaki by the shirt to direct her to the back room on the right, and stopped her in front of her western style bed.

"There is something wrong, and I know Li-kun is somehow involved," replied Kanami.

"When is it not?" replied Misaki with a shrug.

"That's why I am concerned. Do you ever think of what will happen?"

"I don't know what to think anymore; especially about our situation. I just want to forget about who he is and move on with our daughter."

"But you can't, can you?"

Misaki stared at her friend, and then looked away since she knew it was true.

"Does he know?" Kanami asked.

Misaki gulped from the empty feeling at the pit of her stomach. It had been wrong to tell her friend about the thing she was facing now. To her problem, Li and she weren't even married.

"No, I haven't told him yet," replied Misaki.

"Does Riku know?"

Misaki rounded on her friend and glared at her devilishly for asking such a question. Kanami raised her hands in defeat.

"Look, Misaki," began Kanami, as she lowered her hands. "You can't go on like this. You and Li need to sit down and talk. That's all I'm going to say on the matter."

She exited the room and closed the door to leave Misaki alone. She stood still as she thought about the tight pinch concerning Li and she. Misaki didn't know how to tell him, but she knew she had to.

"What do I do?" muttered Misaki.

She exited the room to look for her daughter. Misaki roamed around the crowd as she bowed while saying Merry Christmas. She found her daughter standing by Saitou, walked over to her while smiling, and picked her up.

"Mama?" Riku asked.

"I'm sorry I've been a party pooper, sweetie," said Misaki. "I've always had this problem around the holidays."

"I know, Mama."

Riku hugged her mother, making Misaki feel warm inside.

Misaki carried Riku around the room to talk with her guest, and laughed at certain things that had happened through the years. It felt wonderful to her to get the monkey off her back, but she wished Li was here.

Kanami was the only person that knew his identity, which pleased her that her friend had kept it a secret from everybody. Li had been helping her bring in wanted Contractors, making her job easier, but it had riled up a few feathers in her department.

Their relationship had developed over the years, partially because of Riku, but also because they loved each other dearly. Her father liked him, at least she thought since there was a few times he had given him a hard time. He had asked Li his occupation in which Li had stated stock boy. Her father had frowned at him. Misaki believed at times he knew more about Li than he would admit. It had put her on edge a few times.

Her front door opened. Misaki looked towards it to see a man with short black hair that was dripping wet and beautiful blue eyes. He wore a blue coat that was covered in snow, a green turtle neck sweater and blue jeans, and he held two shopping bags. He removed his thick black shoes, set the bags down, and walked over to Misaki and Riku smiling.

Misaki returned it as she let their daughter down to run over to him.

"Papa!" yelled Riku ecstatically while she held out her arms. As she reached him, Li picked her up and held her on his side to smile at her. "Where you been?"

"Last minute shopping," said Li.

"Really? What you get me?"

"Now what's the surprise if I tell you, Ri-chan? You'll just have to wait until tomorrow morning."

"Ah, but, Papa?"

"Riku, sweetheart, you know better to ask him those questions," said Misaki, as she walked up to them and kissed Li.

"I sorry. Where Yin-san?"

"She's spending the Holiday with Kiko," replied Li.

"Why not 'nvite 'Iko-san?"

"We did. They'll be by tomorrow to give you their gifts."

"Oh, k."

"Li-kun," said Saitou behind him.

Li turned around to see Saitou, Kouno and Ootsuka were standing next to each other. He slightly bowed at them while smiling.

"Merry Christmas," he said to them. They returned the gesture. "Enjoying the party?"

"Yes, we are," said Saitou.

"As long as he isn't trying to sing Christmas Carols," said Kouno.

Li chuckled at his comment and said, "As long as he doesn't mix up words to where it comes out as bad words."

"Eh, well, sorry about that, Li-kun," said Saitou.

Li nodded his head to show it was all right.

"Eh, I have something to tell you, Li," said Misaki.

Li gazed into her eyes puzzled at what she wanted to tell him. She found it hard to look into his eyes like the Christmas five years ago. Misaki fought with her emotions, ordering her eyes to look at his. She slowly stared into his blue eyes to see they showed fear in them. He figured it was bad, but that wasn't the case. It was good news, but it was going to put them in a deeper situation.

Misaki opened her mouth to say the words she had wanted to tell him for the past week, but a cat had caught her tongue. It was hard for her to speak, since they were far from getting married. She would have found it easier to say it if she had a ring on her finger, and if Li wasn't the Black Reaper as well.

Li put their daughter down and placed his fingertip on her lips.

"Before you tell what's on your mind, let me tell you what is on mine," said Li. He reached into his coat pocket, fished around in it, and pulled out a small box. Misaki looked down at it puzzled and knew what it was. "I wanted to wait until tomorrow morning to do this, but with everybody present, I thought it best to do it now.

"I know we have had or differences through the years, but I couldn't see myself with anybody else but you." He got on one knee, opened the box to show a diamond ring that sparkled in her brown eyes, and held it out to her. Misaki placed her hands over her mouth, as she gasped at it and tears ran down her cheeks. "Will you marry me?"

Misaki couldn't believe what she was seeing and hearing. The man she loved with all her heart had asked her to marry him. She desperately wanted to say yes, but their occupations kept on crossing her mind. It wasn't wise for them to do this. If anybody in her department had found out the truth, their life and future was doomed. Not only that, their children would be frowned upon for the rest of their life.

What was she to do? She was in such a pickle she didn't know which way was up to climb out of it.

_Follow your heart. _A voice said in her head.

Misaki smiled at Li and nodded her head, as she said, "Yes. Yes I will marry you."

It was worth the risk if it meant she could be with Li as long as they could.

Li smiled up at her and then stood to embrace and kiss her. She melted into his arms as she let the moment overwhelm her while her guest watched them while smiling. Misaki would have been embarrassed to kiss him in front of everyone, but not today or anytime in the future.

She pulled away from him, looked into his eyes as she found it easier to say what was on her mind, and said, "I—I'm… pregnant."

Li looked at her shocked, but then he smiled in glee.

"Pegant? What that?" asked Riku while looking up at her parents.

Li and Misaki stared down at her.

"It means you're going to have a little brother or sister," said Li.

"Really? What broter, siser?"

--

End

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A/N: I know I'm a little late, but Merry Christmas and a happy New Year.


End file.
